Orban: May the symbol of love, of the spirit of sacrifice give us the strength to be reborn together

In a message on Easter Eve, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban voices hope that the Easter symbols - "of love, of the spirit of sacrifice and, above all, the symbol of rebirth - give us the strength to be reborn together." 

"Dear Orthodox and Greek Catholics, this year we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in a totally different way from the way we celebrate each year. This year we will have to stay at home, we cannot go to church to attend the church for Easter. We will be with those close to us, family, but we will be away from many of those who are dear to us and with whom we spend beautiful moments. Even if we cannot go to church, faith can help us celebrate the feast in the soul of each one of us and we manage to turn each one of our homes into a church, into a place where we celebrate," Orban says in a video message.

He underscores the need to follow social distancing.

"We have been through difficult times, we are subjected to trials that we would not expect; our lives, our way of being has changed radically. Many of the things we were used to and considered normal to do every day we cannot do it today. We are forced to continue to make every effort we have made to date, with all the deprivations attached, to produce results and to manage together to pass, as soon as possible, this test caused by an epidemic that creates extremely many dangers for each of us, "says Orban.

The prime minister is urging a deep reflection on the future these days.

"Spend Easter and use this holiday for deep reflection on what will happen after we get rid of this epidemic. I trust that we will come out of these holy holidays better, more human, more empathetic, closer to our fellow citizens, more inclined to acts of generosity and more attentive to the problems that our fellow citizens have, because in this difficult test through which we pass together we have seen the humanity of most of our fellows, the spirit of sacrifice shown by those who show we are fighting on the front lines against this virus and we have seen the generosity of many of our fellows who have carried out humanitarian campaigns in support of those in need."

"I wish you a Happy Easter, health and I wish each of us to go through this period as quickly as possible. May the fundamental symbol of this holiday, which is the symbol of love, of the spirit of sacrifice and, above all, the symbol of rebirth, to give us strength to be reborn together,"Orban concludes.